KAFE Mornings

Myths about the American flag

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Mandy

This time of year, you see the American flag plastered on just about everything. But you might be surprised to hear that a lot of things you’ve always been told about the flag are WRONG. Here are five myths about the flag, from AARP.org.

1. Betsy Ross didn’t make the first one. She DID make flags in Philadelphia, within a few years after the design first came out in 1777. But the story about her making the first one didn’t come out until 1870. There’s never been any real evidence for it.

2. The colors don’t symbolize American sacrifice. Officially, the colors don’t symbolize anything at all. They were picked because the first flag of the American colonies had the same colors . . . and before that, the British Union Jack.

3. It was never a tradition to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in Congress. They’ve only been reciting it in the House for 25 years, and only since 1999 in the Senate. They started doing it for political reasons, during the Bush–Dukakis presidential campaign.

4. It’s not illegal to burn the flag. That’s only a myth because no one pays attention to the Supreme Court. Flag burning USED TO be illegal, but the laws were struck down in 1989, when the Court decided flag burning should be protected as a form of free speech.

5. It’s not patriotic to wear the flag on your clothes. The U.S. Flag Code says you’re not supposed to sell or display ANYTHING that has an image of the flag on it, if the flag is a distinguishing mark on it.